Starfish EXTENDED : ShoeBox Gallery x Bismarck - My impressions followed by a short interview with Niamh Saunders

 Extended edit of my article for Starfish Magazine 

Original Published at : https://www.instagram.com/p/C6tt-ZhIV94/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

People crowded drinking wine, inside and outside, both front and back. The venue ran out of stock too soon but that is a testimony to the success of the event and how buzzing the atmosphere was. Shoutout to the girl with orange fluffy heels, icon. 

This was the vibe of the bright spring evening of the opening of the first exhibition held by ShoeBox gallery, in Bismarck in Stoneybatter. A coffee shop by day, wine bar by night, gallery as we stand here

Normally galleries are quiet and sombre but this was taken out into the field, into an alternative space away from the “white cube”. I think this gives people a licence to yap and loudly enjoy art. We had to shout over people talking, revisiting our favourite pieces and making sure nothing was missed.

The exhibition focused on the theme “Types of Beings” and aimed to bring together work by local, Dublin artists.It was wonderful that I was able to recognise people’s works from shows i have seen from around the city, as well as some I didn't recognise at all. It shows that however existential the creative scene feels in Dublin, there is proof of a strong community here, being made stronger by the founders of ShoeBox, Niamh Saunders and Cillian Green. It felt like Dublin is doing well and has potential to keep growing as an arts scene, however pessimistic and humble we are (completely, typically Irish) . The event was lively but recognising the artist's works made it seem intimate as well. 

Highlights for me were two pieces across from the counter in the main room which reminded our group of Rorschach tests. These pieces were one by Rachel Kenny and another by Eyo, both dark black and grey toned, defined by sort of blurred boundaries which asked us what we could see in the pieces, what we related to them rather than what they expressly wanted to show us. Another standout piece was a snaking textile sculpture by Nicole Holbrook who’s work I immediately recognised from a show that was in the NCAD Gallery the month prior.

“The main manifesto is like, how hard it is to be a Dublin artist “ 

I got talking with Niamh Saunders, one of the organisers of ShoeBox Gallery, and I asked her some questions that the event brought up for me.

Eleanor: Can expand on what you mean about the “manifesto” being about Dublin artists?

Niamh: The manifesto that I came up with with Cillian Green was, at its core, to give Dublin’s emerging artists the opportunity to display work that they may not have had a chance to show as finding a space in Dublin to exhibit work is not an easy task. 

With each exhibition, we want to bring in different artists and it's important for us to have a range of different mediums as well, so there's a bit of everything for everyone! You can (hopefully) be guaranteed in loving something in the exhibition. 

Eleanor:Could you speak specifically about the group of artists that you brought together? 

Niamh: Well we decided for the first event to host an art exhibition, as we are both somewhat familiar with the work that goes on behind the scenes and knew what we had to work on. It was very much a collaboration. When we first started to work on this together we wrote out a list of names of different artists in Ireland whose work we both really liked and appreciated. It was important for us to show multiple different mediums at this exhibition. With this in mind we created a list of 5/6 different names each and contacted them. They were all amazingly enthusiastic about what we were trying to do so we were delighted !

Eleanor: Getting spaces for events in Dublin like this seems so rare, how did that come about? 

Niamh: Getting the space for the event was basically a stroke of luck- Cillian worked on the murals inside Bismarck before it opened back in February and I went to visit the space. The owner of Bismarck, Mark, had worked a lot in the music industry and understood my own background as a fashion designer/ artist. This sparked a lot of conversation about holding an event at Bismarck, whether it was art or design. Mark was kind enough to offer the space to me, saying that while we all are working here he wants us to utilise the space and do whatever we want with it. This opportunity is something that is super rare, so when he said that, myself and Cillian jumped at the chance.

Eleanor:I was wondering where the name ShoeBox came from? 

Niamh: The name Shoebox came from our first brainstorm. The idea essentially came from people having an “everything drawer”. Although we liked the name “Everything Drawer”, it was a bit of a mouthful. But then came ShoeBox, which we both liked, as we knew in a similar way to an everything drawer, a lot of people store a lot of different bits and pieces and trinkets in shoeboxes. It is also a play on the space being small and compact, as well as setting it up as a gallery space with the opportunity for the pop ups to be transportable to other spaces if the opportunity arises.